The present invention relates to a new and industrially advantageous process for the preparation of 3-ethoxy-4-ethoxycarbonyl-phenyl acetic acid of Formula I: 
This compound is a key intermediate for the synthesis of Repaglinide of Formula II: 
an oral hypoglycemic agent.
Chemically, Repaglinide is S (+) 2-ethoxy-4-[N-{1-(2-piperidinophenyl)-3-methyl-1-butyl}-aminocarbonylmethyl]benzoic acid (Formula II) and is known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,216,167 and 5,312,924. Repaglinide is first member of a new class of oral hypoglycemic agents (Meglitinides) for type II non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). It stimulates the secretion of insulin from beta cells in the pancreas, acting via calcium channels. Hypoglycemic events are less with repaglinide as compared with other anti-diabetic agents. It offers significantly better biological profile as compared with sulphonyl urea class of hypoglycemic agents, and has been approved by the U.S. FDA for treatment of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (type-II diabetes).
A previously known method for the synthesis of intermediate, 3-ethoxy-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)-phenylacetic acid, of Formula I, was reported in J.Med. Chem; 41, 5219 (1998) which involves five steps with an alleged overall yield of about 21% of theory. These steps include: (1) alkylation of 4-methylsalicylic acid of Formula III 
with ethyl bromide in acetone, in the presence of potassium carbonate, at 150xc2x0 C. for 30 hours in an autoclave to give ethyl 2-ethoxy-4-methyl-benzoate of Formula IV 
(2) bromination with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in carbon tetrachloride in the presence of azo-bis-isobutyronitrile (AIBN) to give ethyl 4-bromomethyl-2-ethoxy-benzoate of Formula V 
(3) cyanation of bromo intermediate of Formula V with sodium cyanide in dichloromethane for 43 hours to give ethyl 4-cyanomethyl-2-ethoxybenzoate of Formula VI 
(4) selective hydrolysis of cyanomethyl intermediate (of Formula VI) with gaseous hydrochloric acid in ethanol under reflux to give ethyl 2-ethoxy-4-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)benzoate of Formula VII 
and (5) hydrolysis of di-ester of Formula VII with aqueous sodium hydroxide to yield the desired intermediate, 3-ethoxy-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenyl acetic acid of Formula I.
The above mentioned method described in the prior art for the manufacture of the desired compound of Formula I suffers from the following limitations:
The process is lengthy involving five steps with an overall yield of about 21% of theory.
The reaction conditions are unsafe and inconvenient to handle at a commercial scale, as it involves high temperature (150xc2x0 C. for O-alkylation) and longer reaction times.
The process requires raw materials which are toxic and difficult to handle at commercial scale, e.g. sodium cyanide, carbon tetrachloride and gaseous hydrochloric acid.
The process requires specialized equipment such as an autoclave (to carry out O-alkylation at 150xc2x0 C. at step-I).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, commercially viable, and efficient process for the preparation of 3-ethoxy-4-ethoxycarbonyl-phenyl acetic acid of Formula I in 59-72% over all yield. It is a further object of the present invention to avoid the use of hazardous, toxic and commercially difficult-to-handle raw materials.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 3-ethoxy-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenyl acetic acid of Formula I, comprising reacting 4-methylsalicylic acid of Formula III, with ethylbromide in a dipolar aprotic solvent at a selected temperature within a range of ambient to 100xc2x0 C., preferably 30-40xc2x0 C. during a period of one to several hours. The suitable dipolar aprotic solvent is selected from the group consisting of dimethylsulphoxide, N, N-dimethyl formamide, sulfolane and N-methyl-1-pyrrolidone. The reaction is carried out in the presence of an inorganic base, preferably selected from the group consisting of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate. The reaction is worked up following the conventional method to afford ethyl 2-ethoxy-4-methylbenzoate of Formula IV in practically quantitative yield. The compound of Formula IV is then reacted with lithium diisopropyl amide (LDA) of Formula VIII,
[(CH3)2CH]2N Lixe2x80x83xe2x80x83FORMULAxe2x80x94VIII
which in turn is prepared by reacting n-butyllithium and diisopropylamine in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran as a solvent by following the methods known in the prior art. More particularly, ethyl 2-ethoxy-4-methyl-2-benzoate of Formula IV is reacted with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) of Formula VII at xe2x88x9240 to xe2x88x9280xc2x0 C., preferably at xe2x88x9260 to xe2x88x9280xc2x0 C. for 0.5 to several hours and subsequent decomposition of carbanion with carbondioxide. Preferably, the reaction of compounds of Formula IV and VII is carried out in the presence of a suitable diploar aprotic co-solvent which is selected from the group consisting of hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), 1,3-dimethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-(1H) pyrimidinone (DMPU); 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMEU) and tetramethyl urea. The reaction mixture is then decomposed in water. The aqueous layer is then acidified with mineral acid comprising sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid etc to an acidic pH, preferably at pH about 2. The desired compound, 3-ethoxy-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenyl acetic acid of Formula I is isolated at this pH by conventional methods including extraction with a suitable solvent which is selected from the group consisting of dichloromethane, dichloroethane, chloroform, ether, isopropyl ether and toluene.
In the following section several preferred embodiments are described by way of examples to illustrate the process of this invention. However, these are not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention.